need a little bit of clarity..

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Is it legal to carry a side-arm holstered onto your belt while you're in an automobile? I've heard queer stories where a person stance was which so that the visibility of the firearm was obscured and thus warranted his arrest. I find this quite trivial but be that as it may. . . I only want to clarify thelegalities in places that may make it seem as though I were attempting to conceal it I.E. in the automobile while on my hip. That's not necassarily 'plain view.' Even though one only needs to glance down from the passanger side to see it if it ison my right..(from the left, it would be obscured.) follow me? Apparently you don't need a CCW to put the weapon in a glove box but it must be holstered correct?

thanks.

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AmericanWay wrote:

Is it legal to carry a side-arm holstered onto your belt while you're in an automobile? I've heard queer stories where a person stance was which so that the visibility of the firearm was obscured and thus warranted his arrest. I find this quite trivial but be that as it may. . . I only want to clarify thelegalities in places that may make it seem as though I were attempting to conceal it I.E. in the automobile while on my hip. That's not necassarily 'plain view.' Even though one only needs to glance down from the passanger side to see it if it ison my right.. (from the left, it would be obscured.) follow me? Apparently you don't need a CCW to put the weapon in a glove box but it must be holstered correct?

thanks.

Click to expand...

You can find the law (ARS 13-3102.F) here:
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/03102.htm

Thanks to State v. Adams and State v. Moerman (http://www.azcdl.org/html/educational.html )conditions like "obvious to a casual observer" also come into play when reading ARS 13-3102.F. In a vehicle that has come to mean that it is obvious to someone outside the vechicle that there is a gun inside the vechicle.

ARS 13-3102.F (second sentence) deals with carrying in a car but the Adams decision pretty much negated carrying in a car without a permit. But last session AzCDL succeeded in having the words "map pocket" added into the law as a place to carry a holstered gun. The new wording is subsequent to the Adams decision but map pocket is not defined. It appearsit is being interpretedthat any compartment in a car is a "map pocket" - which gets us back to carrying a holstered gun in the glove compartment, until another activist anti-gun judge determines otherwise.

Here's another thing to think about if you're carrying in a belt holster on your right side - your passengers are at risk of "carrying concealed without a permit" if they can reach your gun without much effort.

The other side of the coin is that despite the horror stories and urban legends, 99% of LEO encounters will be in your favor - depending on your attitutde at the time. We (AzCDL) would like the language in the law more clearly defined and ultimately to make it unneccessary to have a CCW permit regardless of how you carry. Please consider joiing us in our efforts: http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html

Until we get improvements in the law, having a CCW permit with you is thebest way to carry openly.

Fred

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Fred,

Thanks a lot for the useful info, ACDL is a good cause and I appreciate the work you guys do.

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As a new gun owner myself, I decided it was easier to remove the gray area by just getting the CCW. Why should your freedom lie at the mercy of a judgment call? Do yourself a favor and get the license.....

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well what if you're 19 years old and you can get a CCW?